BestMed Medical Scheme vs. Momentum Medical Scheme
Both BestMed and Momentum Medical Scheme are known medical aid schemes that provide a comprehensive selection of tailored plans. Here, we compare in these two medical aid schemes to help you decide on the best medical aid option for your healthcare needs in 2026.
Which offers more affordable cover – BestMed or Momentum Medical Scheme?
While Momentum Medical Scheme has the lowest premium of the two medical aids with its Ingwe plans that specifically focusses on students, BestMed offers a greater selection of affordable medical aid plans designed for individuals, young families, and pensioners.
👉 Gap cover is a short-term insurance policy which provides shortfall cover where doctors and specialists charge above medical aid rates of cover.
👉 BestMed doesn't have their own Gap cover. Once your savings are depleted, you have access to your day-to-day benefits. Therefore, you do not have to fund any gap.
👉 It should be noted that Momentum does not only provide medical aid but also has a number of other divisions under its umbrella. Gap cover is one of them but does not fall directly under the medical scheme.
Do both schemes offer hospital plans?
👉 Yes, both BestMed and Momentum Medical Scheme offer hospital plans. BestMed offers you a choice of only having hospital coverage with your plan or combining it with day-to-day expenses. BestMed hospital plans cover you in hospital for unlimited emergency and planned procedures. You also get access to some additional benefits for wellness and preventative care. It includes full cover in hospitals for specialists and full cover for chronic medication.
👉 All of Momentum Medical Scheme's plans come with hospital plans that will pay for the costs of your care if you are admitted to the hospital, including ward costs, theatre fees, and accounts from other in-hospital providers like anesthesiologists or radiologists. All of its hospital plans are governed by the terms of the Scheme, pre-approval, case management, clinical guidelines, and the benefit choice you have selected.
👉 Bestmed was founded in 1964 and currently has more than 250 000 lives under its care. The Scheme is the largest self-administered scheme in South Africa and the fourth largest open medical scheme.
👉 BestMed has also been recognised for its outstanding contribution to the medical aid and healthcare industry, and has received a number of awards. In 2020 and 2021 it received the highest rating for perceived quality, perceived value, customer service and customer loyalty in the Medical Scheme Industry Category in the South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SA-csi). The scheme also received the highest rating for customer expectations and has the lowest rating in the industry for beneficiary complaints.
👉 Bestmed was ranked number one in the Medical Aid Industry performance category of the 2020 Ask Afrika Orange Index® and was also awarded the Excellence in Creating Access to Quality Healthcare (Organizations) award at the 2020 annual Titanium Awards presented by the Board for Healthcare Fundraisers (BHF).
👉 BestMed recognizes that people’s healthcare needs are different, depending on their age, marital status, family size, general health, priorities and budget and keeping this in mind, offers three main medical plan ranges, each with its own unique benefit options to choose from.
👉 They have a solution for you whether you simply only want to pay for hospital expenses or demand a more comprehensive product. The three categories for plans on offer are beaten, pace, and rhythm.
👉 The Beat range provides flexible hospital benefits as well as savings on certain options to cover out-of-hospital expenses. Beat1, 2, and 3 also allow you to reduce your monthly contribution by choosing a Network option.
👉 The Pace range offers more comprehensive in-hospital and out-of-hospital benefits. In addition, these options all have additional savings accounts to cover extensive out-of-hospital expenses.
👉 The Rhythm range consists of Network only options that offer in-hospital and GP benefits.
💙 You might also consider the following options BestMed has to offer:
👉 BestMed offers comprehensive medical cover that is well-suited towards individuals, established families and higher income earners as well as pensioners.
👉 BestMed also operates on a network-based coverage basis, so individuals should first check whether they reside in areas that fall within the pre-selected GP, hospital and specialist network, making it a better option for those residing in urban areas.
Who is Momentum Medical Scheme?
👉 Momentum is a financial services company and provider of healthcare, insurance and investment solutions in SA and provides tailor-made solutions to over 330 000 beneficiaries.
👉 The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) regulates Momentum Medical Scheme, a not-for-profit open medical scheme that is registered and controlled in accordance with the Medical Schemes Act 131 of 1998. The Scheme was founded in 1963 as a cooperative organization with the primary goal of offering dependable healthcare benefits to its members.
👉 The Scheme aims to strike a balance between the needs of the individual members and those of the combined membership. You get medical aid coverage to match your needs and your budget is packed with added benefits and monthly rewards. As one of the trusted medical aid schemes in South Africa, you can find the most affordable medical aid option to suit your individual or family needs.
👉 Since its inception, Momentum has been offering a secure future for its clients and their loved ones by providing financial advice, supported by innovative product solutions and excellent service.
👉 With Momentum Medical Scheme, you have access to a wide range of medical aid options and industry-leading benefits. Whether you’re a student looking for the most affordable medical aid, a young professional, or a breadwinner who needs extensive cover for your whole family in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which medical aid offers the cheapest medical plan, Bestmed or Momentum Medical Scheme?
Momentum Medical Scheme comes in with its Ingwe plan which is the lowest medical plan at R645.00. The cheapest plan with
BestMed is Rhythm 1 at 1,736 ZAR (Rythm 1) per month.
Which medical aid, Bestmed or Momentum Medical Scheme are the most popular?
At present Momentum Medical Scheme has over 330 000 members compared to the over 250 000 of Bestmed. However, BestMed offers a wider choice between 13 plan options, whereas Momentum Medical Scheme only offers a choice between six medical plans.
Do Momentum Medical Scheme and Bestmed medical aids offer the option of gap cover?
Momentum Medical Scheme provides an option to apply for gap cover, although with Momentum it is covered by another division. Bestmed doesn't have gap cover and use external providers as gap cover.
Do Momentum Medical Scheme and Bestmed medical aids have a waiting period?
Yes, both Momentum Medical Scheme and Bestmed have a general three-month waiting period during which you are unable to submit a claim.
Which is the best medical aid between Bestmed and Momentum Medical Scheme?
Bestmed was established in 1964 and since its start-up has won multiple awards that attest to its excellence. Furthermore, they boast one of the lowest beneficiary complaint ratings within their industry.
Momentum Medical Scheme also dates back to 1963 - offering affordable medical aid plans and financial advice as well as cutting edge product solutions to their members.
